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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the supply officer that doesn't supply Hugo's squadron with enough blankets?

2. What is the minimum sentence length Hugob advises having in a poem?

3. Who does the British colonel remind Hugo of?

4. Which famous poet does Hugo say escapes from personality during the writing of a poem?

5. Hugo feels that there is a tendency for literary professors to establish and maintain _____ over their students.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the conclusion Hugo makes regarding the Ph.D. system in literature?

2. Why does Hugo say that Cerignola has a bad reputation in Italy?

3. How is "grammarphobia" a problem in writing, according to the author?

4. How does Hugo feel about the British colonel and why?

5. How is it that Hugo and his wife are able to go to Italy?

6. How does Auden express his disdain for competitiveness among writers?

7. Why is blank white paper not recommended for writing poetry by Hugo?

8. What is the curse of creative writing courses as seen by Hugo at universities?

9. Why does Hugo say not to write with a pen?

10. Why is acclaim considered by Hugo to be dangerous to the poet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Hugo describe the difference between working at a regular job in "the real world" versus teaching at a university? What is the only initiating subject he ever wrote a poem about where he worked?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Hugo's view of a poet's fear of amoral and shallow writing. When does Hugo say that this kind of writing would occur? What does he say of the moral sense of all the poets he knows personally?

Essay Topic 3

What does Hugo feel is the role of competition in being a poetry writer? Who does he know that is competitive about it? What is the effect Hugo sees as a result of being competitive?

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